Background Briefing: October 7, 2020

On By gram

 

A Former Catholic Theologian’s Open Letter to Amy Coney Barrett

We begin with Trump’s decision to abandon any hope of a stimulus for struggling businesses and unemployment benefits for millions of Americans afflicted by the pandemic which today Trump described as a “blessing from god” to instead focus on getting a sixth conservative judge on the Supreme Court, Amy Coney Barrett. A former Catholic theologian, the Reverend Dr. Matthew Fox, now an Episcopal priest and an activist for gender justice and eco-justice, joins us. The author of 37 books including The Pope’s War and the forthcoming Julian of Norwich: Wisdom in a Time of Pandemic – And Beyond, we discuss his open letter to Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett in Tikkun magazine. We go over the questions that should be asked of this replacement for Ruth Bader Ginsburg the Republicans are rushing to confirm, by Democratic senators and possibly some Republicans, to make it clear how Judge Barrett’s views are so far out of the mainstream of religious thought and diversity within the Catholic faith, not to mention the country as a whole.

 

Reimagining, Not Restoring a New Post-Trump Liberal International Order

Then we speak with Rebecca Lissner, professor in the Strategic and Operational Research Department at the U.S. Naval War College who is the co-author of the new book An Open World: How America Can Win the Contest for Twenty-First-Century Order about her article in Foreign Affairs, “A Foreign Policy for the Day After Trump Reimagining – not Restoring – the Liberal International Order” which argues that the U.S. is not required to dominate all prospective military or political challenges ahead.

 

How Will Kamala Harris Handle Mike Pence?

Then finally, ahead of the vice presidential debate between Vice President Pence and Senator Kamala Harris, we speak with Chelsea Janes, a reporter for The Washington Post covering the 2020 presidential campaign who was embedded on the campaign trail during the primaries with Kamala Harris. She joins us to discuss her latest article at The Washington Post “Harris advisers say it’s not her job to fact-check Pence.”